Hey everyone! Can we tear ourselves away from this heated debate for two seconds and critique poor Tony's construction studies he has up? He's only gotten like two! That would really improve our crumbling society.

Some people were going around saying they're gonna stop reading the blog now because John doesn't like rap. That's retarded. Who cares about rap? Do you try to convince your barber and your butcher to like your music? It's not worth throwing away the greatest animation resource on the internet for want of a style of music.

If it's such a controversial topic that all other conversation is brought to a stand still because of it, then we should all stop talking about it. We're never gonna agree, it's a generational thing. As long as we all agree to agree that 1940s music is the best, I don't see a problem.

I used to listen to the Ice-T record Iceburg in the late 80's early 90's, when I was a youngster... that was some mean motherf****n' rappin'!!hehehe!! what you gotta hear John is Australian rap!!!in an Australian accent!! ahahah it's pretty funny!!! make me cringe! hehehe!! I'll try to find some on You Tube!That country song you found has got one steady beat! love it!

Interestingly, Smoke, Smoke, Smoke (That Cigarette) was "written in large part by Merle Travis." Whitburn, The Billboard Book of Top 40 Country Hits, p. 89. (as quoted in wikipedia). There is a lot of crappy music from the 40s, too, but it is harder to remember because it was eighty years ago. Do you think that parents and grandparents from that generation disavowed his sing-talking then because it wasn't what they were used to?

>>Some people were going around saying they're gonna stop reading the blog now because John doesn't like rap. That's retarded. Who cares about rap? Do you try to convince your barber and your butcher to like your music? It's not worth throwing away the greatest animation resource on the internet for want of a style of music.

If it's such a controversial topic that all other conversation is brought to a stand still because of it, then we should all stop talking about it. We're never gonna agree, it's a generational thing. As long as we all agree to agree that 1940s music is the best, I don't see a problem.

Is that fair?<<

I agree with Jorge. This is a cartoon blog (mostly), for god sakes, and John's entitled to his opinion.

Still, that hasn't stopped me from leaving my barber for not enjoying the discography of Slipknot when I offered it to him. The bastard.

I had this song memorized upside down and backwards since the 4th grade, and whenever I got an in argument in school about rap, I'd start reciting it and get ostracized, haha. Memories, like the corners of my mind...or something....

Hey John, besides being inspired by the richness of past popular culture shown in your posts, and learning fundamental cartooning skills for free, I enjoy your strong (mostly well-formed) opinions that spark debate. Watching Alistair Cooke’s Personal History of America recently I realized the blandification of our popular culture corresponds with the domestication of our society. Hardly original (Ken Kesey says it better in One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest) and I lack empirical evidence, but there may be something to it. Blandification follows domestication (with maybe a lag of a generation or two as the knowledge, ruggedness and pioneering spirit of the last generation is watered down), and the conveniences we surround ourselves with can either help us achieve more (with the right knowledge and discipline) or help us to become complacent, let others do our thinking, and encourage mediocrity. Thanks for sharing, and it’s good to see so many other people with the intellectual curiosity and the drive to “carry the fire”.

Hey everybody, look at me. I have musical tastes of my own. Are you prouuuuuuud of Hayden?!! Hug me, love me, shower me with kisses! I command you to hear my 2cents of Hip Hop that has potential John K crossover appeal: Busdriver and Saul Williams have got melody and lyrics worth listening to in spades: “artistic merit is questionable, we’ll fall on our faaaaace.”And if that still doesn't work John K may require a frontal lobotomy and a "love Hip Hop" chip inserted into his cerebral cortex to remake him in our own image. That oughta do it.

WHHOOOOHOOO!!!*leaping merrily around the room like a flea with St. Vitus Dance*I think it's the first I'm hearing the "Smoke, smoke Smoke a cigarette" song... (although it sounds a little familiar...was it ever used in a cartoon?)AAAHH! I LOVE IT!!! I'm ADDICTED to it!Thank you!!!Oh my word, I have to go hunt it down in a store somewhere now...(*Hugs JohnK*)That was awesome.